A/N: This fic is one I was thinking about before the HBP came out, but now it's sort of solidified. If you haven't yet read HBP (Shame on you) then be warned that there are spoilers here. There is also explicit and sometimes non-consensual sex and violence. If you are old enough and mature enough to deal with that, read on. Otherwise, don't blame me for ruining the book or hurting your psyches. Please review.

I'm not going to do personal thanks this time, but if you reviewed, you should know you are loved.

I got several great gift ideas for the twins, and I am going to save them for the future. I was thinking about some of my favorite books this week as I was packing and unpacking from moving, and had an idea that I am stealing (sort of) from one of them. I got it, in part, from the Mage Winds series by Mercedes Lackey, who is my all time favorite author… (Sorry JKR…)

Surprises

Walking into the joke shop was comforting.

Really, that's kind of strange. I mean, for most people in the wizarding world, the twins jokes are not synonymous with comfort. But for me, now, they are.

Fred was behind the counter when I came in, and he gave me a big smile.

"Hermione, how'd the shopping go?"

"Great, Fred, really great. I was wondering if I could borrow a couple of your delivery owls to send the presents?"

"Sure thing. Through the door on the right. Lee's back there now."

"OK. Then I'll go upstairs and fix lunch for you hard workers."

Heading through the indicated door, I saw a room with open windows along the ceiling with as many owls and empty roosts as the Hogwarts owlery. And right in the middle of the room was Lee, sweeping the floor and feeding some of the birds.

"Hey, Lee, can you help me get these packages off before I go fix lunch?"

"Sure thing, Hermione. How many packages total?"

"Three. Ginny, Harry, and Ron." As I said this, three large owls flew down and presented legs for me to attach the packages too.

Within a few moments, it was done and I was heading upstairs. After my morning in the cold, I decided I wanted some soup for lunch, so I went about in the kitchen fixing some toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque.

Not long after, the twins and Lee headed up the stairs, grinning. Lee immediately went to the fridge and got out butter beers for everyone.

"You guys seem happy." I observed.

"Business is great. Holidays are great. Life is great. Food is extra great. What's not to smile about?" Lee was clearly in a great mood.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Well, I have a bit more shopping to do this afternoon. The weather is a little cold, but it's nice and sunny. Perfect for the holidays."

"Yeah. Be careful out there today. The shoppers are a little rabid for some reason…." George looked a little apprehensive about me being out all day alone.

"I know how to deal with rabid shoppers, George," I said, grinning.

"Well, then, we should all head back down to the shop." Fred was looking at George with an strange look on his face. "See you tonight, Hermione."

With that, they all left. I spent a few minutes clearing the lunch dishes into the sink and thinking about what to get them.

It was then that I remembered seeing an ad in the Prophet for a new custom goblin-run jewelry store. I dug through a pile of paper until I found it…

"Need that perfect and unique gift for someone special?"

Obviously.

"Something personal crafted just for them?"

Duh…

And then there were some pictures of rings and lockets. All different, all unique. One which especially intrigued me was of a set of rings that looked to contain hair.

Not knowing what I wanted, or even if I would find it there, I decided to be prepared. I went into the twin's bathroom and found their hair brushes. Carefully, I pulled a few hairs from each and wrapped them in silk bags. Sticking the bags in my pocket, I headed out to this new store.

Arriving there, it looked deserted. I walked carefully through the door and looked around. It didn't look like they were doing any real Christmas business like the rest of the shops on Diagon Alley. I wonder why?

Just then, I saw the goblin behind the counter. He was peering through a glass at a ruby the size of my fist. Still looking at the stone he said, "Can I help you?"

Nervous now, I stammer out, "I'm looking for gifts for my friends. I saw your ad in the Prophet." I noticed that my voice seemed to have gone up a notch. It sounded a bit squeaky to me.

"Hmmm, what kind of gift did you have in mind?" His eyes were sharp, I felt like he was looking at me as carefully as he had been examining the stone a moment before.

"Well, I say the rings in the picture, the ones that look like they have hair in them…and…I was wondering if you could tell me more about them?"

"You don't seem old enough to be getting married." He stated flatly.

"Oh…married…uh…no…"

"Those rings usually serve as wedding rings. Hair is taken from both the bride and groom and twisted together. The hair is then mounted on the decorated metal band and encased in crystal. It is then charmed with a warning charm so that if either party is ever in danger, the ring glows and gets warm."

"Do they always serve as wedding rings?" It sounded perfect. But not if they were always wedding rings. They didn't have that kind of relationship, after all…

"Well, no, not always. Sometimes really good friends get them for each other, too."

"Can more than two people share the rings?"

"Yes, as long as we have the hair to set the charm on."

Coming to a snap decision, I decided that they sounded perfect after all. "There are three of us. I have the other parties' hair here." Reaching into my pocket, I extracted the two silk packets and placed them on the counter. Then, trembling, I reached up and tugged three hairs from my own head and laid them down beside the packets.

"What metal would you like? The charm works best on titanium."

"Titanium, then, is fine." I was thinking about how the boys would react to these rings. I hoped they would understand how I felt about them, that they had somehow, in the last week, supplanted Ron and Harry as my best friends… "Oh, Hell, I forgot to get their ring sizes!" How could I forget that!

The goblin looked at me like I was crazy. "Ring sizes? You must be muggle-born. Fine wizarding jewelry is charmed to always fit perfectly."

I blushed, once again realizing how little I really knew about the wizarding world. I had never, after all, read a book on fine wizarding jewelry…

"Alright, then, when can I come back for them?" I wanted out of that shop. Goblins always made me nervous…

"They should be done by six o'clock tonight."

I nodded and left the store.

Six gave me several hours of time on my hands. I was thinking about going to the bookstore and browsing the new arrivals, when I heard a woman's voice calling my name. Turning around, I caught a glimpse of shockingly pink hair making its way towards me.

"Tonks!" I shouted back.

"Hermione! Good to see you. I was just finishing up my shopping, had a little bit of a holiday since the school's not in session, and decided to come into London. What do you say to a pint where it's warm? I'm about done and could use some refreshment."

"Sure, Tonks! Sounds good."

She took my arm and began leading me towards the Leaky Cauldron. I was almost to the door before I started feeling sick. "Um, can we gosomewhere else? I don't think I'm in the mood for the Leaky…"

She gave me a look.

I blanched.

"OK, Hermione. We can go somewhere else. And over that pint, you're going to tell me why we aren't having it here."

As she led me to the Dragon's Den, I was wondering how much of a coincidence my running into Tonks was. After all, the twins had been trying to get me to talk to her for a while. On the other hand, she was a friend, female, and used to dark wizards. She wasn't a mother figure. She was probably the best person for me to talk to…not that I had a choice now.

Over a pint of mulled mead, I told Tonks everything. Starting with my breakup with Ron, my need for space, coming to London alone for the holiday, running into the twins and making plans, and finishing with what had happened in my room at the Leaky Cauldron.

When I finished, tears were silently tracking down my cheeks, but I felt better. Talking about it with Tonks felt right. She wasn't jumping up to defend my honor, just listening to me. It was a nice change from hot-headed boys…

"Well, Hermione, as an auror, I think you need to report him. Then I can legally track him down. If you want, I'll make the report while I'm here, you don't even have to go in to the ministry. On the other hand, things could get sticky for you if you do report him. You should be aware of that. Things are always hard for women reporting a rape. Another option is to wait. Eventually, the twins, Ron, or Harry will track him down and probably beat him to death…then I'll have to track them down and arrest them. They'll get off, of course, on a temporary insanity charge, but it'll be a mark on their records if they ever want to work at the ministry. Well, it wouldn't matter for the twins…but it would still reflect badly on the rest of the Weasleys."

"Oh, God, I hadn't thought of all that. Tonks, I don't want my friends in trouble."

"Well, let me make the report, then. I have your story up here," she tapped her temple, "that way, if one of them finds him before I do, he's a wanted criminal, and I wouldn't have to arrest one of the boys for protecting you."

"Tonks, thanks."

"Hermione, you're not the first, you know, to have this happen to them. The twins didn't lie about that. You're the youngest, at least of the witches that we know about. But you're not the first."

Something in the way she said it made me wonder…and something in her eyes told me the truth of it. "Oh, Tonks…I've been so selfish. Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked at me, realizing that I had figured out her secret. "Well, there's not much to say. No one else knows, although I think the twins and Remus suspect something... Lucius attacked me, which is particularly gross since he's my uncle. At least it wasn't my first time." She smiled at that, a little sadly, but still a smile. "And as an auror, I'm a more acceptable target than you, since you are still in school. But still, Hermione, what you need to know is that rape is not about sex. It's about having power over someone else, and forcing them to do something they don't want to do. It's something that women always face in a war, because it hurts not only them, but the men in their lives who didn't protect them. At least, that's how men see it. The twins, Remus, Harry and Ron if you tell them, they feel like they failed to protect you, and so they failed you. It's a blow not only to you, but to them."

"Tonks, how many other women have been raped in this war that you know of? I know you can't give names, but I just want a ball park number…"

"I know of 23 witches, of whom you are the youngest. And another 78 muggles."

"Bastards." I was shocked.

"Yeah. Well, it's getting to be about dinner time. I need to head back to Hogsmead. If you need anything, let me know. I'll file the report tonight."

"OK. And Tonks, thanks again…"

With that, she disapperated and I headed back to the jewelry store.

The rings were beautiful. They had the hairs braided together and encased in crystal with a beautiful knot work pattern worked into the metal. I smiled when I saw them. Paying an exorbitant amount of money, I took the three small boxes and headed back to the flat.

I secreted the boxes under the mattress in George's room where I had been sleeping, and went into the kitchen to fix dinner.

I decided to keep dinner simple, since tomorrow I would be cooking a lot, so I fixed a large pot of spaghetti.

Right on queue, the twins came clumping up the stairs. Clearly they were tired. It had been a long and busy day for them.

"Looking forward to having a bit of a break tomorrow." Fred looked exhausted.

"Christmas season has been good to us, though. Got lots of orders from overseas…and from Hogwarts students." George was smiling.

"George, look, she made spaghetti!"

"Haven't had spaghetti since Hogwarts" George said, looking at me. "Mom doesn't like spaghetti."

"Ah."

I wasn't really feeling too talkative. I was a bit talked out. Although as the carbohydrates entered my blood stream, I felt a renewed energy.

"Ran into Tonks today" I said as conversation was stopped while everyone chewed.

Fred and George looked at each other, then at me.

"She's making a report tonight" I said looking back at them before dropping my eyes to my plate.

"Good." This was George. "Now it's official that he's a slimy git and we'll be heroes when we track him down."

"You're already heroes to me."

I was flustered. Quickly, I rose from the table, put my plate in the sink, and left the room.

Standing in the hall, I could still hear them talking.

"I'm glad she talked to Tonks."

"Me, too. Do you think Tonks told her everything?"

"Yeah, I do. Do you think she'll be able to heal now?"

"I think she's already healed, George. You did a good job with the healing spells."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, do you think she'll heal emotionally? She mostly seems like her old self, but then, she says something and runs off."

There was a sigh. "I don't know George. I'm no expert on the long term effects of rape. She doesn't seem like she's going to break anymore, though…I imagine she'll be OK eventually. It'll take some time."

"I think she's worth waiting for." This last was said very quietly. "I think I'm falling in love with her."

There was a moment of silence at this.

"Take it slow, George. Real slow."

"Yeah, I already figured."

"She'll get through this. We'll get through this."

"Thanks Fred."

I heard the floor creak, and decided I didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door, turning on the water.

Now I had even more to think about.

OK, Guys, read and review...please and thanks!